Don Wright Faculty of Music - Western University

A of now Western Alumni Ben Heffernan who won the Forest City London Music Awards’ Youth Award at the Battle of the High School Bands in 2016!

We send best wishes to all musicians rocking it out today at the 2024 event! 🎸🎹🥁

📷: sourced from FCLMA
London Music Hall London Music Office

Teachers! ☀️Before the school year is out, send in your recommendations for this year's Western University/ Ontario Band Association Intermediate Honour Band.

We are thrilled to host the program conducted by Prof. Colleen Richardson taking place October 11 and 12. If you have band students in grades 8, 9, 10, or 11 please visit the link below for full details and student playing requirements provided by OBA.

Sept. 16 - deadline for teacher recommendation
https://music.uwo.ca/outreach/western-oba-honour-band.html

Photo Credit: Avery McCord

Music graduate Ryan Breen battles rare, fatal illness - Western News Percussionist Ryan Breen is graduating from Western with his bachelor of music after a seven-year journey that included a battle with a rare, fatal illness.

For our students and faculty members, the summer months are never dull with time spent learning, instructing and performing at summer festivals and institutes across Canada and abroad! ☀️

Western University faculty members Sharon Wei St. John, viola, and Joe Phillips, double bass, are both representing as guest artists at Scotia Festival of Music connecting with several participating students and Western Alumni through the Young Artist program!

Graduating student, Meika Sonntag, the most recent recipient of the Ralph Aldrich String Award at Western was also able to connect with her award’s namesake through Scotia Fest.

We love to see such moments! 💜🎶

📷: Photos provided by Sharon Wei

A shoutout to Western Alumni Marta Herman who is currently performing the role of Anastasio in Luzerner Theater’s production of Vivaldi’s Il Giustino!
💜🎶

OPERA PLACES: Marta Herman takes us to Luzern, Switzerland Canadian mezzo soprano Marta Herman takes us to Luzern, Switzerland where she is performing the role of Anastasio in Luzerner Theater's production of Vivaldi's Guistino, running May 2- June 20.

Faculty member and composer Paul Frehner is in Wales where the premiere tour of his new opera Horizon: Madog continued this past weekend. He conducted three performances of the new chamber opera with Welsh baritone Jeremy Huw Williams and Montreal’s Ensemble Paramirabo.

Horizon: Madog takes place in a distant future, when the world’s oceans have flooded coastal regions across the globe, and geomagnetic storms have decimated global communication systems, isolating the scant remaining survivors of societal collapse. Humanity is recovering but is still in a fragile state, and once-great nations are now fractured into island states.

One of the first performances of Frehner's new work took place earlier this year in von Kuster Hall Western University, timed with a three-day residency with Williams and Ensemble Paramirabo.

Happy Pride Month!! 🏳️‍🌈

At Western, we are committed to creating a campus community where everyone feels respected, valued and included. Pride is a celebration for all.

The inaugural Pride parades commemorated the anniversary of the Stonewall uprising on June 28, 1969, when police raided the Stonewall Inn in New York City. The subsequent marches, which began a year later, cemented the significance of Stonewall in the 2SLGBTQIA+ civil rights movement.

Among the notable figures who were part of the Stonewall uprising was Marsha P. Johnson, a Black, q***r and trans advocate. Alongside her fellow activist Slyvia Rivera, Marsha established STAR House, a shelter for q***r youth facing homelessness, with a specific focus on supporting people of colour.

Keep an eye on Pride London Festival for details of programming taking place in London and see events and resources at Western: https://brnw.ch/21wKluB

The time has come for a fiery announcement! ♥️🔥

This is here to announce the 2024/25 Opera at Western productions – Die Fledermaus (The Bat) by Johann Strauss II in the fall with Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) and the annual opera scenes gala taking place during the winter term.

Dates and ticketing information will be available in July so stay tuned to your inbox or our website. If you would like to subscribe to our email list for concert and event updates, visit: https://music.uwo.ca/events/opera.html

photos taken from the last time these fully staged opera productions were performed at Western University

We can’t wait to welcome 2024 Parsons and Poole Concert and Masterclass featured artist, internationally renowned Vietnamese-Canadian pianist Dang Thai Son to Western University this fall!

Dang Thai Son was propelled to the forefront of the musical world in October 1980, when he was awarded the First Prize and Gold Medal at the Xth International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. It was also the first time that a top international competition was won by an Asian pianist.

Established more than a decade ago by Western Alumni to honour Margaret Parsons and Clifford Poole, the Friday concert and Saturday masterclass bring world-class musicianship and invaluable learning experiences to Western’s students and the community. We are deeply appreciative of this annual series funded through the Parsons and Poole Concert and Masterclass Fund.

Want to secure your ticket for the concert on September 20 at 7:30pm? Tickets are available now!

Full details and tickets: https://music.uwo.ca/events/parsons-poole.html

Photo of Dang Thai Son Credit: Hirotoshi Sato

Teachers, grad students! 'DO' you have summer plans? Have you 'RE'gistered for this summer's Kodály Certification Program?

Both Levels I and II will take place at Western University from July 2-12, 2024. The program is also available for AQ via Faculty of Education - Western University and as a course credit for current grad students.

For full program details and to learn more about esteemed program faculty members, Kim Eyre, Eila Peterson and Dr. Tracy Wong, visit: https://music.uwo.ca/outreach/music-education/kodaly-certification-program.html
Registration deadline: June 25, 2024

Photos taken in the Music Building from the 2023 Kodály Certification Program cohort's culminating presentation.

Congratulations to Western Alumni Simona Genga, Mezzo Soprano, who was recently recognized as a Grand Prize winner and Audience Choice Prize winner of Toronto City Opera’s first annual Giuseppe Macina Operatic Voices Competition!
https://www.torontocityopera.com/macina-competition

Congratulations to Western Alumni Brad Barnham – the winner and recipient of the 2024 Ruth Watson Henderson Choral Composition Competition. 🎶

Full details: https://choirsontario.org/2024/05/announcement-of-the-2024-ruth-watson-henderson-choral-composition-competition-winner/
Choirs Ontario

Announcement of the 2024 Ruth Watson Henderson Choral Composition Competition Winner FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TORONTO, ONTARIO | MAY 12, 2024 - Choirs Ontario is thrilled to announce that Brad Barnham has been selected the winner and recipient of the 2024 Ruth Watson Henderson Choral Composition Competition. Over 16

🔊 We’re hiring a Pop Band ensemble director! 💜🎤

Do you know anyone who has experience leading an energetic and enthusiastic group of student musicians?

Established in 2022, Pop Band at Western University is a large format ensemble that has focused on performing North American popular music ranging from the 1950s to present day. Students rehearse and perform standard and contemporary repertoire, emphasizing interactive playing, improvising, and developing appropriate stylistic competency and techniques.

➡️ Job ID: 35185 Deadline to apply: Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Visit Working at Western to apply for this role and to review several other part-time 2024-25 faculty position opportunities available at the Don Wright Faculty of Music: https://www.uwo.ca/hr/working/staff/index.html

Three Western University students are banding together this summer and heading to Gwangju-Gyeonggi, South Korea in July for the 2024 WASBE-World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) Youth Wind Orchestra (WYWO).

Congratulations to Master’s student Johnny Tan, clarinet, BMus student Alex Rozenberg, baritone saxophone, and Faculty of Science - Western University student Max Zhang, trombone who were accepted into WYWO earlier this spring.

WYWO is a unique project that brings young talented musicians from all over the world together to perform symphonic wind repertoire at the highest level. The WASBE conference and festival takes place every two years, and five Western students participated in 2022 when the event was last held in Prague, Czech Republic.

Prof. Colleen Richardson, coordinator of bands and director of Western’s Wind Ensemble, has been President of WASBE since 2022 and is this year’s Conference Artistic Planning Committee Chair. WASBE is the only international organization of wind band conductors, composers, performers, publishers, teachers, instrument makers and friends of wind music.

https://music.uwo.ca/news/2022/five-students-join-2022-wywo.html

A warm welcome back to the New Horizons Band members on campus at Western University for week two of the Summer sessions! 🎶

Congratulations and best wishes to Western Alumni Patrick Bowman – Music Director for Grand Theatre’s production of “Million Dollar Quartet” as the show wraps this Saturday! 💜

Check out the article below with Patrick as one of the interviewees: https://www.intermissionmagazine.ca/features/million-dollar-quartet/

Million Dollar Quartet and London's musical legacy | Intermission “I’ve always wanted to do Million Dollar Quartet, and I’m so glad I get to do it at the Grand,” says Kelly Holiff, who plays Dyanne in the show.

High School Singers! Let's make summer plans ☀️
Join us for Summer Vocal Intensive and immerse yourself in workshops, lessons, training seminars and more, all while making new friends and exploring what's on offer at Western University's Don Wright Faculty of Music 💜

Open to all high school students – this includes graduating Grade 12 students and incoming Grade 9 students.

Deadline to register: June 30, 2024
Program runs: July 31 - August 2, 2024
Full details: https://music.uwo.ca/outreach/vocal-intensive.html

📷: previous Summer Vocal Intensive participants and current students Braylon Belanger (at piano) and Ian Balana (singing, middle) with current student Cailyn Mann (singing, right)

Happy Monday! From wherever you are enjoy some Western University campus 🌷💜

Western honours MMIWG2S+ on Red Dress Day - Western News Western will honour the National Day of Awareness for MMIWG2S+ (missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people) on May 5, Red Dress Day.

Congratulations 🎉 Yumi Jang on this well-deserved honour! We are so

Full details: https://music.uwo.ca/news/2024/yumi-jang-tsm-fellow.html

Oh my gosling! 🐤
It’s that time of year again, baby geese on Western University campus as our students take flight for summer plans 💜